Meade ETX90EC Telescope w/Electronic Controller ~ Electronic Telescope

Customer Rating :

List Price : $499.99 Price : $439.00

Product Description

Dual axis motor drive system; Pushbutton electronic hand controller; Cordless operation; Maksutov-Cassegrain optical system; Flip mirror system (straight or 90 degree observing position); Optional autostar compatible (uses #497 Autostar); Super multi-coated optical lens, 26MM lens; 1250MM focal length; Setting circles and locks on both axes; electronic control panel.

Amazon.com Product Description

Meade finally brings a serious telescope into thecasual-consumer price range. The ETX-90EC Astro offers extraordinaryoptics at an affordable price. It combines a high-resolution opticaldesign and diffraction-limited imaging with microprocessor-controlled,precise celestial-object tracking, all in a nicely styled, highlyportable package.

Improvements to this model include a new forkmount with dual-axis drive system. The ETX-90EC also includes hightorque DC motors on both telescope axes, permitting electronicoperation from the hand-held controller. This push-button electroniccontroller has four dual-axis drive speeds: slow, 8x for imagecentering at high power; medium, 32x for image centering at lowerpower or for pushbutton tracking in altazimuth mode; moderate, 0.75degrees per second for image centering in the viewfinder or forterrestrial tracking; and fast, 5 degrees per second for fast scanningacross the sky.

The Meade ETX-90EC is specially designed to beportable and used in the field. It offers cordless operation, allowingyou to use the telescope's dual-axis drive system for more than 40hours on eight AA batteries. At approximately 8 pounds and 15 inchesin length, it packs a lot of power into a compact unit.

TheETX-90EC uses a 90mm Maksutov-Cassegrain optical design, and Meadeactually warranties the optics of the ETX-90EC "to equal or exceed theoptical performance and resolution of any Maksutov optics of similaraperture ever manufactured at any price." The ETX-Series optics offersuperb contrast, image brightness, and resolution; Meade claims thetelescope consistently outperforms many instruments of largerapertures. Meade also uses EMC super multicoatings on all opticalsurfaces to maximize light transmission through the corrector lens andreflectance from the primary and secondary mirrors. The flip-mirrorsystem allows for 90-degree observation of land and sky objects,straight-through observation using the optional #932 45-degreeErecting Prism, or photo-ready imaging using the optional #64T-Adapter and your own 35mm camera.

Overall, the Meade ETX-90EC isa fine piece of craftsmanship at a surprisingly affordable price. Forthose of us who spent our childhood peering through old-style consumertelescopes, using the ETX-90EC is like getting time in the PalomarObservatory. From shifting cloud belts on Saturn to the glowingfilaments of the Orion Nebula, this instrument lets you observe theheavens in extraordinary detail.

Cordless motor drive for fully automatic tracking
Equatorial fork mount
Flip-mirror system
Maksutov meniscus corrector lens of Grade-A BK7 optical glass
Includes a Meade Series 4000 Super Plvssl 26 millimeter eyepiece for 48 times magnification

Meade ETX90EC Telescope w/Electronic Controller Reviews

195 of 198 people found the following review helpful:

Beyond my wildest expectations!, November 27, 1999

Daniel W. Schuffert (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meade ETX90EC Telescope w/Electronic Controller (Electronics)

I am truly an amateur astronomer. My childhood was peppered with dime-store telescopes that showed me a new blurry world. When I got the EXT-90EC I expected little more than a brighter blur. To my surprise and delight I was wrong. Out of the box, in bad lighting conditions, surrounded by trees, I saw some of the most breath-taking images of the moon. In fact, I spent the next six hours observing the moon. I saw craters in detail. I even saw some craters within craters. I did venture to a bright star I saw in the sky. It turned out to be Jupiter. It was a highly recognizable Jupiter. Not another dot in the sky. I could see three of Jupiter's moons in orbit. I couldn't even make out Jupiter's moons with the naked eye.

I tried the telescope during the day for terrestrial viewing. Once again I was pleasantly surprised! The local river area came alive with wildlife. The photographic possibilities are endless!

I purchased the #883 Deluxe field tripod, #932 45... Read more

129 of 131 people found the following review helpful:

A good **portable** scope: Read This, August 27, 2002

Christopher B. Hoehne "Brad Hoehne" (Columbus, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meade ETX90EC Telescope w/Electronic Controller (Electronics)

I am the president of a large (300 members) astronomy club in Columbus, Ohio and have looked through thousands of telescopes in my life- including, perhaps, 20 Meade ETX-90s. I find the views of the planets and the moon through the ETX-90 to be consistently good- though not overwhelming. Due to the limited light grasp of this scope, high power views of deep-sky objects (galaxies, star clusters, nebulae) are relatively anemic and uninspiring. However, the scope gives very nice "rich field" (low power) views of the Milky Way and brighter comets.

To explain: More than any other factor, it is the aperture of a telescope that matters. In general, aperture dictates portability, cost, resolution (sharpness) and, most importantly, light gathering ability. A telescope is like a bucket for gathering light; the larger the bucket, the more light it gathers. With its 3 and a half inches (90 millimeters) of aperture, the ETX-90 is not a very large bucket.

Why is this important? Other than... Read more

95 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

easy to use and expandable, June 14, 2000

"kuniklo" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meade ETX90EC Telescope w/Electronic Controller (Electronics)

The ETX-90EC was a breeze to set up. Within 20 minutes I was viewing the moon in my backyard. The optics are fantastic for the price and the standard eyepiece is great for terrestrial peeking as well as stargazing.

The motor works well and the variable speeds are very effective, but mine is a bit noisy. It tends to growl as it idles and I have not been able to determine if this is normal or not. Other downsides are the vertically exposed eyepiece (I ended up using a plastic cylinder as a protective cap) and the six screws on the spotting scope, which make centering very difficult.

You definitely need the tripod because the standard base is unstable unless you are placed on solid rock, so prepare to add another $200 to the price. And the erecting prism is a must for terrestrial viewing.

All in all this is a great scope. The few limitations are far outweighed by the line of eyepieces and accessories available for the ETX-90EC such as Autostar and the 35mm camera... Read more